Andy Kubert recently sat down to talk a bit about his upcoming Damian: Son Of Batman mini series. He also talks about Damian's death, why he's doing the mini series, how he will write and draw Damian, his plans for the future, and some other things.
Newsarama: Andy, before we start talking about this series in particular, let's talk about the death of Damian Wayne, because I'm not sure we've heard from you about that recent event. Did you know up front — when you were first creating the character — that Damian Wayne would eventually die in Grant's story?
Andy Kubert: I had heard rumblings that the character could have been cannon fodder. I don't think anyone ever figured that he would get as popular as he did. But Grant did some great characterization with Damian and he became a fan favorite.
Newsarama: What were your feelings when you read the issue that depicted the character's death?
Andy Kubert: Even though I co-created him, I knew a long time before "Requiem" that he was going to get killed off. It didn't bother me…he's not real! And I thought Grant and Chris Burnham did a great job with the way his death was depicted.
Newsarama: When Grant's "death of Damian Wayne" issue came out, did you already know you'd be revisiting the character in this Son of Batman mini-series? I had my mini series all written and figured out back in 2008, years before DC had even planned to kill Damian. I had to put the series down when I started working with Neil Gaiman on "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader." I hadn't been able to pick it up until this past spring when my series were to be put on DC's publishing schedule.
Newsarama: So if this was conceived years ago, does it not tie into Damian's death?
Andy Kubert: No, Damian's death doesn't tie into my series at all. Again, I conceived this series way before his actual death was planned.
Newsarama: OK, then let's talk about your choice to write the book. Drawing this "possible" future world holds some obvious attraction for the "artist" side of you, but why did you want to write it?
Andy Kubert: I had always wanted to write. In talking with editor Mike Marts, he suggested I come up with a mini-series I would like to write and draw. I loved working on the regular Batman title, but working at my father's school kept me from keeping up with the deadlines. I wish I could have continued a bit more with it before taking myself off the monthly. I was especially fond of #666. I really loved that Batman and the whole world that Grant dreamed up. So I thought it would be fun to do a story of how Damian actually becomes that #666 Batman.
To read the entire interview click here! Damian: Son of Batman #1 will be written and drawn by Andy Kubert and will hit the shelves on October 13, 2013.
Posted by Dane Haji